Never Let Me Go
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: With hundreds of Arkham inmates lose in Gotham, Bruce's attention is divided between Selina and his nightly alter ego. Selina is starting to remember the freedom of being the mysterious Catwoman. As well as her desire to destroy Batman and Ivy.
1. Chapter 1

**Never Let Me Go**

 _With hundreds of Arkham inmates lose in Gotham, Bruce's attention is divided between Selina and his nightly alter ego. Selina is starting to remember the freedom of being the mysterious Catwoman. As well as her desire to destroy Batman and Ivy._

 _Harleen and her new lover are making elaborate plans for Gotham's innocent population, and a new candidate with a checkered past is running for Mayor of Gotham._

 ** _Disclaimer! I do not own Gotham or the DC characters!_**

1.

~ Alfred wasn't happy with having to bring Bruce's dinner to him in that dank bunker again. Selina had eaten dinner alone for the third night in a row and the butler could tell she wasn't happy about it either. Bruce had forced the butler to make excuses for him. Traffic, work, meeting, work, press statements, work. Alfred could see the frustration written plainly on Miss Kyle's face whenever he told her she would be dinning alone.

"Master Bruce." Alfred said curtly when the young man ignored the dinner tray Alfred had so carefully put on the table next to him. "Miss Kyle was disappointed that you didn't show up for dinner like you promised."

Bruce glanced at his watch.  
"Damn, I must have lost track of time." he said. "Will you make my apologies? Tell her I was working late at the office."

"I already have, sir." Alfred said. His voice not disguising his annoyance with the younger man. "I would have thought having Miss Kyle here at last was what you wanted, but you've been ignoring her for three days."

"I've been a little busy, Alfred. In case you haven't noticed, hundreds of dangerous psychopaths are lose in the city. My nights have been spent rounding them up and my days are spent with the new Arkham project." Bruce said with an exhausted sigh.  
"Yes, and in the meantime, you are neglecting your guest." Alfred scolded.

"It's **for** Selina that I'm doing this, Alfred." Bruce said.

He finally turned to his old friend.  
"Ivy is still out there. So is Crane and that intern Harleen Quinzel. The man she helped escape, is the same one who let all the murder's out and instigated the riot. He has been in prison since he was seventeen because he murdered his mother. Gotham isn't safe while those maniacs free." Bruce said angrily.

"Sir, perhaps you can take Miss Kyle back to Europe. Forget about Gotham for a while. I'm certain Gordon and the rest of the GCPD can handle this." Alfred offered. "The two of you seemed so happy in Switzerland."

Bruce looked at the older man in contempt.  
"Is that why you didn't tell me about Arkham reopening in the first place? Did you want me to stay away forever?" he asked.  
"Yes." Alfred said boldly. "Anything to keep you happy and away from this dangerous little hobby of yours."

"You would let the innocent people of this city suffer when you know I could help them." Bruce accused.

"I don't care about the innocents of this horrible city, sir." Alfred told him coldly. "I only care about you."

Bruce shook his head.

"You don't mean that." he said.

"I do mean that." Alfred snapped. "And besides, isn't it dangerous having Miss Kyle here in the house? You secret life so close and all? What if she finds out? Not to mention the fact she tried very hard to kill you last time she was in Gotham."

"The medication Fox designed keep that side of her… sedated. They keep her memories of what she became from Ivy's toxin at bay. As long as she takes those, meds, she'll be fine. She'll be happy." Bruce said.

Alfred looked over the young man with uncertainty. Bruce's face clearly showing his own need to believe that Selina was safe.

~ Selina wasn't surprised she would be alone for dinner again. Bruce was still at the office and wouldn't be home until well after she was normally asleep in her own room. Alfred had wanted her to sleep in her own little pink bedroom during her stay at Wayne Manor. It was almost comical their first night back in Gotham, with Alfred letting them both know about the separate sleeping arrangements.

"No misbehaving." he said sternly to Bruce. Selina had smothered a laugh as Bruce's face turned scarlet with embarrassment.

Still, she had managed to sneak into his room in the middle of the night. Most of the time she found his bed deserted. It would often stay empty until morning. Those nights, Selina couldn't sleep and would wander Wayne Manor for hours on end. Isis, her black cat Bruce had rescued from her apartment, keeping pace with her as the explored the empty, lonely house.

"Here is dessert, miss." Alfred said placing a small tea plate before her. On it sat two pills, powder blue and blood red. Alfred never called them pills or medication, his manners were too nice for that. Only dessert.

"There's a good girl." he offered in way of encouragement.

She had eaten dinner alone that night after Bruce had promised he would be there. Wayne Manor was the loneliest of places to be and she was going stir crazy with only Alfred and Isis for company.

She looked to Alfred who nodded for her to take her medicine and she reluctantly swiped them off the plate.

Either Alfred's eye sight was going or he thought she was more compliant, but he never caught her sleight of hand. The pills going into the cracks of her fingers instead of her mouth. She drank the full glass of water without complaint and smiled at Alfred.

"Master Bruce called and said he would be late again. He sends his apologies." Alfred told her.

Selina nodded.

"I haven't seen him all day." she admitted. "Think he'll make an appearance soon?"

"I hope so." Alfred said with a little bow.

After Selina had supposedly taken her medication, she was left in peace. She knew the pills made her drowsy and she knew that Alfred knew this to. She would be expected to want to go to bed early and sleep peacefully all night. So, she played along. She went upstairs to her pink room, shut the door, and flushed her pills in the toilet.

Now it was time to get dress to go out. Alfred wouldn't check on her till morning and she knew how to escape Wayne Manor without setting off the silent alarms throughout the house. She dressed, as always, in black. Her leather jacket, a staple in her wardrobe for years was now a hot fashion trend in Gotham. A picture of her dressed in her normal clothes had been given a splashy centerfold in a fashion magazine. Selina Kyle had become a media mystery woman who was always on the latest trend by creating the latest trend.

Suddenly, it was high fashion to wear Army surplus boots and a grey hoodie under a worn black leather jacket. There was even a "steal this look" with candid photos of Selina at Bruce's speech in front of Arkham Asylum.

It annoyed her only slightly to think her style was being ripped off. But her style was born out of necessity. Not of looking good.

Selina slipped out of her bedroom and down the servants hall to the back entrance and delivery chute. No one would notice her leaving and she would be back before sun up.

~ Batman was on patrol of the Narrows. Even with the fed's coming to close down the drug runners, the little burrow next to Arkham Island was still a breeding ground for criminals. It was a safe bet to assume that Ivy and the others had hidden here.

Most of the inmates that escaped Arkham were easy to find. In fact, the police had picked them up within 24 hours due to the obvious hospital gowns and manic ramblings. Others, like Ivy and Quinzel, were more adapt at hiding. They were smarter than the everyday criminal. Batman wasn't sure if they were insane or not, but they were all heartless monsters. That much, he had seen with his own eyes.

His car, not flashy on the outside, held within it every new piece of technology Fox could cram in. Info red dash board, auto pilot steering and stealth mode just to name a few. Batman allowed the car to drive itself down a few deserted block while he looked out the window. These nightly drives, were growing old. Alfred was right, he was neglecting Selina.

Batman quickly snapped on the small screen that was programed to catch key phrases and words in the local news. Not surprisingly, Vicki Vale's perfectly camera ready face appeared. She was being interviewed by a very pretentious reporter about her experience in Arkham.

"No, I don't blame the inmates of Arkham for the riot." she said.

Batman noticed she had dyed her hair back to platinum blond again.

"I blame the mayor and his entire administration. There are reams of evidence, confiscated by the GCPD that show proof of intentional misdiagnosis all to fill up beds in Arkham Asylum. There needs to be a full investigation into Mayor James and Doctor Rosenbaum's actions." Vicki said.  
"Do you support Bruce Wayne's plan to rebuild Arkham into a beacon of hope for the mentally ill?" the reporter asked in his well practiced accent.

"I think the Wayne family has always been the great dreamers of Gotham. They never see what it is, but what it should be. What it can be. That's a wonderful thing, it's something to aspire to, but right now, we need to address the hundreds of inmates that are still on Gotham streets. Just last night, a couple was attacked by one of the escaped inmates of Arkham and killed. GCPD is overrun with trying to round them all up. People of this city are scared-" Batman snapped off the transmission. He had heard just enough from Vicki Vale tonight.

He was doing all he could but he was just one man. Tonight alone, he had found one of Arkham's escapee's in an alleyway of the Narrows. A tired looking old man sitting quietly alone. His Arkham ID bracelet identifying him as one of the many who had ridden a ferry here. He wasn't afraid of Batman dropping down from his own hiding place. Or of the police cars that arrived a few minutes later. The cops were careful with him. The older man didn't protest and just wanted to be someplace warm and wanted something to eat.

Arkham had been full of horrible criminals, but many of them were castaways like that poor soul. Batman shuddered to think that Selina could have been in that place.

~ Gordon had barely had a chance to catch his breath in the days since the Arkham riot. Vicki Vale wasn't helping. She called his office everyday asking for an interview. She wanted to know about the records for the patients. About Rosenbaum about the mysterious warden who had vanished off the face of the earth.  
"We cant' let the press know about Jack Gruber." he said to Dent.  
"Are you sure it was the same man, Gordon? I mean, it's been a few years." Harvey Dent reminded him.

Gordon shook his head.

"I won't ever forget that face." he said. "Figures he would return to Arkham. It's like a playground for him. A place to conduct his experiments on the patients there. Just like before."

Dent was chewing on a pen, while casually lounging in one of the office chairs. With his pretty boy looks, he seemed more at home on a beach somewhere and not in Gotham.  
"What did you think of Wayne's speech?" Dent asked sarcastically and nodded to the little TV in his office. It was another news report about Arkham. Wayne was dressed like he was running for office while he spoke of the new hope for Arkham.  
"He has the resources to pull it off." Gordon said.

"It's a million dollar project. Without government money to assist it, Wayne will have to dig deep to get it off the ground." Dent reminded him.  
"When he does, there will be plenty of business. We're arresting a former inmate everyday." Gordon said. "We caught one tonight in fact. A tip led us to some poor guy in the narrows. Got over on the ferry he says. Can you believe it?"

"I can believe it as easily as I can believe all these rumors about some nut job in a motor cycle helmet beating up street thugs." Dent huffed.

Gordon tuned Dent out. He felt his heart skip a beat and pain go off in his injured hand at the news report on the TV. This time, it wasn't Wayne they were focused on, but rather, who the beautiful woman he was leaving with was.

Gordon clutched the hand Selina Kyle had stabbed and seethed with anger at her. He could do nothing about it. He had entered her apartment without a warrant and she, along with Wayne's lawyers could sue him.

She had vanished off the face of the earth for weeks. What was she doing back in Gotham?

~ Selina had always liked Gotham. After abandoning Wayne Manor for the evening, she caught a bus into the city and roamed the streets like a regular tourist.

Sure, a mugger tired to grab her, but she had surprised herself when she kicked him square in the chest and sent him flying back. The man was coughing and gasping for breath when she strolled away from him. Her focus on the bright lights of the theater district.

She was never tired at night now, and she wandered all over. Gravity seeming not to apply to her. She climbed up rooftops easily and broke out into a run. She jumped gracefully and landed silently back on the streets below. Never once getting hurt, or even afraid she would get hurt. Then, she took the bus back out of the city and snuck back into Wayne Manor well before dawn.

The house was silent and still as always. Isis was waiting for her. She checked in Bruce's room, but found he hadn't come home yet.

She showered and went to bed alone. Her body easily calming down enough to rest. Almost like a cat nap before she heard her door open and someone sneaking into her bedroom.

She felt her bed shift with the body of someone and strong arms pull her close. A man's lips kissing her neck and holding her from behind.

"I love you, Selina." Bruce said sincerely. His voice was exhausted and yet happy. "So much." he added.

 **So sorry** **about** **the long** **absence. More updates to come. No worries.**


	2. Chapter 2

2.

~ Harleen never questioned her decision to let Jerome out of Arkham. When she was with him, nothing seemed to matter anymore. Jerome chased away whatever sadness that had roosted in her heart so many years ago. Now, the streets of Gotham looked less gloomy. The rain wasn't so cold and the stares from the drug dealers on ever corner, were not so mean. She didn't worry about money or a place to go either. Jerome provided for them.

"You're hands." Harleen said focusing on the knuckles that were ripped open and bleeding.

Jerome shook his head and gave her that winning smile.  
"Never fear, Harl." he told her. "I got his money."

"From that pimp?" Harleen gasped in horror.  
Jerome nodded. Rain was falling on the both of them in this narrow little ally. Escape from Arkham felt like weeks ago now, when really it had only been a few days. Jerome had taken the liberty of stealing all the money they needed for motel rooms. Lucky for them, they were in Gotham. A city ripe with rooms to rent by the hour with no questioned asked.

They bought new clothes at the salvation army and every night, Jerome would tell her wild stories of the traveling circus as they lay in bed together.

She was relived he was getting stronger. His new freedom had such a positive effect on him, he couldn't stop smiling.  
"What do you say we go out for a stake dinner, Harl?" Jerome asked.  
"We're still on the news, Jerome." she whispered. She tucked the cash into her coat pocket and pulled her hood up. They were in downtown Gotham and police had upped their search for all of Arkham's escaped inmates. She and Jerome were always prominently featured on the news.  
"Harl, lets not use my old name anymore." Jerome said. His arm draped over her shoulders as a squad car rolled passed them.

He and Harleen pretended to laugh at each other as the police didn't even notice them. They looked like tourists in this rainy city.

Jerome pulled his _Gotham Knights_ base ball cap lower over his head.

"Good idea." Harleen whispered. "What should I call you?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll think of something. It won't do to have you call me Jerome now with our names and faces all over the news. No thanks to your friend Vicki." he grumbled.  
"She's not my friend. And without her, I never would have been able to get you out." Harleen whispered. "And we never talked about you releasing the other patients."

"It was a spur of the moment idea. All my best ideas at ones I do without thinking." Jerome said with a shrug.

"So, whats our plan?" Harleen asked. "Do we leave Gotham?"

"Leave Gotham?" Jerome huffed and pulled her into an uncomfortable hold. "This is my kinda town, Harl old girl."

Harleen winced in discomfort at his strong hands.

"We don't want the cops to catch us." she said and pulled away slightly.  
"Just one." Jerome nodded to a news stand. The Gotham Harold and Gazette were focused on Wayne and Arkham. It was the trash magazines that told the interesting story.

Harleen handed the cashier some of their ill gotten money, and Jerome helped himself to a dozen or so gossip magazines.  
"No one else is talking about this guy." he said once they had ducked down another ally.

"Who?" Harleen asked.

Jerome nodded to a grainy black and white photo of a man in black. A motor cycle helmet blocking his face.  
"Who is he?" Harleen asked. She really meant to ask why she should care, but Jerome had a temper sometimes.

"No one knows, Harl." he said with a grin. "He's beed going around my town, picking on all the poor people who are just trying to live a normal live of vial misdeeds. I ask you, is that the kind of world you want to live in?"

"What are you going to do?" Harleen asked. Jerome was reading the article that was saying the masked man was an alien from outer space.

"The coke heads are calling him a batman." Jerome said and grinned. "Well it's simple, Harl. We kill the batman."

~ Selina always slept in. She felt luxurious in the bedroom at Wayne Manor. A place that didn't skimp on a good mattress or expensive sheets. She remembered Bruce climbing into bed with her sometime in the night. Of his lips tickling the back of her neck and telling her he loved her. She slept better after that. After he had fallen asleep curled around her. His arms holding her like she was a favorite stuffed animal.

Selina was a little disappointed to wake up and see her bed was empty. It was nearly noon and Bruce was already in Gotham for work.

~ "Alfred, I think I'll go out for a while today." Selina said. Lunch had been served and eaten, nothing to do now but hours and hours of boredom.  
Alfred gave her an uneasy look.  
"Out?" he questioned. "If you need anything, I'm sure I can have it delivered here, Miss Kyle."

"I'm going stir crazy here." Selina sighed. "I need to roam around the city for a while."  
"Miss Kyle, Master Wayne would not approve. Some of the individuals from Arkham are still out there. Very dangerous." Alfred said. The subject seemed to be closed.

Selina shrugged.  
"I'll be fine. I'm not a prisoner here, am I?" she asked.

"Not at all." Alfred insisted. "But your safety is a priority. Gotham isn't safe right now."

"Alfred, I've lived in Gotham my entire life. Most of it without a home to go to. Are you forgetting that?" she asked.

"Miss Kyle." Alfred said stiffly. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay here. You can discuss this with Master Wayne when he gets home."

~ Bruce was about to be interviewed on TV when a text message came from Alfred.

He waved the chatty make up girl away so he could read the message in private.

 **"** **Minx is gone. Stole a car. I told you so."**

Bruce sighed. To be honest, Selina lasted a lot longer at his home than he thought she would. She never did like to be on lock down. He scrolled through his phone and found her cell number. He was shocked she picked up on the first ring.  
"What are you up to?" he said accused lightheartedly.

He could almost hear Selina smile.

"I just **borrowed** a car. I'll bring it back. I need to have a day out." she told him. "I've been shut up at your place forever."  
"Which car did you **borrow**?" he asked. He didn't really care about the car, but it would never do to have her think this behavior was acceptable.  
"I don't know, the white one." she too him.  
"The white one? That narrows it down." Bruce laughed. His garage was full of luxury vehicles. Almost all of them were white. His father had always preferred a white car or SUV and the habit seemed to have been passed down. It was in deep contrast to his night driving habits.  
"Come on, Bruce." she teased. "Play hooky with me. I can be at Wayne Enterprises in a few minutes. We can disguise ourselves as tourists and go to the movies or something."

Bruce smiled. It was tempting. Selina was always tempting him.  
"I can't, Selina." he told her sadly. "I've got to give an interview about Arkham."

"Fine." she sighed. "Will you be home in time for dinner?"

"I promise." he said. "Stay out of trouble."

"I promise nothing!" she told him with a laugh. Bruce heard her phone chirp off and he waved for the makeup girl to come back.

"Are you nervous about being on the air?" she asked him.

Bruce let out a sigh. Why was it hair and make up people loved to talk?  
"Not really." he told her.

"All of Gotham is dying to see this interview between you and Miss Vale." the girl said. "What with your break up and all."

"We will be discussing Arkham." a voice cut into the conversation before Bruce could respond.

Bruce looked up and say Vicki Vale, dressed in a very flattering and professional pant suit come into the dressing room.  
The make up girl quickly left and Vicki settled into the chair next to Bruce.  
"Is it time to go on the air?" he asked. Bruce pulled off the cape that hair and make up people put over you to save your clothes.  
"Almost." Vicki said with a winning smile. "I just wanted to thank you again for this interview."

"Just so long as we keep my personal life, and our former relationship out of it." Bruce told her sternly.  
"Bruce, I'm not losing any sleep over you." Vicki said with sigh. "I'm too exhausted at the end of the day to worry about you."

"Good." Bruce said.

He looked at his former girlfriend.

"You look very nice, Vicki." he said sincerely.

She smiled.  
"A lucrative contract with Gotham's number one news station will do that. They pay me a ton of money and I get to do what ever story I want." she told him.  
"Wonderful." Bruce said dryly.

"Since you brought it up, I promise I won't ask on camera, who is the actress that you're with now?" she asked.

Bruce shook his head.

"Personal, Vicki." he scolded.

"Fine." Vicki said. "But in the interest of staying friends, I wanted to give you a heads up. There will be two more guests here. They are going to talk about the Mayor and his role in Arkham."

"Who?" Bruce asked.  
"The mayor himself, dear." Vicki smiled. She must have had her teeth capped recently. They were too perfect up close. "He's a little miffed at you. Also a private business owner. Looks kinda creepy, but he says he's going to run for mayor should the recall happen."

"Who is he?" Bruce demanded. "The business owner?"

"Oswald Cobble something." Vicki said with a shrug. "I'll read it off the tele prompter."

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled.  
"Get your game face on, Bruce." she warned. "You can't charm men the same way you charm women."


	3. Chapter 3

**Apologies for my long** **absence** **. Work is a bitch and the sumer** **spent** **away from Gotham was a bummer. It's also a bummer that Jerome is dead, although the Joker lives on.**

 **In my version of these stories, Avery is still Mayor and Jerome is** **still with us.**

 **Please enjoy and please review.**

3.

~ Bruce had gotten used to appearing on TV. It was pure performance art, and very little truth. All you had to do was keep your composure, and he was very good at that. Vicki's show was meant to imitate the hard hitting political journalists. A large table with her at the head, and plenty of experts and people with other opinions. It was a hit already, and she had nowhere to go but up.

"Good evening, Gotham. We are here with Mayor James, talking about the Arkham scandal. I myself reported on the deplorable state of it's inmates only last month. With us tonight is Bruce Wayne of Wayne enterprises, who holds Mayor James' administration responsible for the harm that was done to the mental ill of Arkham."

Bruce watched the camera pan to him and he nodded kindly to her. Vicki had failed to acknowledge Penguin. The man sitting quietly next to the Mayor with barely suppressed glee.

Bruce had never seen Penguin outside of the seedy little club he ran. He had never met him as Bruce Wayne and in daylight. Suddenly, everything that made Penguin so menacing was laughable. He was growing a pot belly on what used to be a slim body. He now had sagging jowls. His flesh was pale almost translucent under the stage lights. By contrast, the much older Mayor James looked the picture of health. Complete with a sprayed on tan and new hair piece.

"All I'm saying is that you, Mr. Wayne, should be careful how you phrase things." James snapped.

Bruce relaxed in his seat. Vicki had barely started the program and no sooner had she gotten into the now famous Arkham speech, then Mayor James was on the defensive.

Bruce wasn't worried about the Mayor, it was Oswald Cobbelpot's presence here that concerned him.

"To go on national television, accusing my office of defrauding the government at the expense of those poor-"

"Mayor Avery!" Vicki laughed. "I was there. Remember? I saw Arkham. I was trapped in that building during a full on riot. You mean to tell me that you had nothing to do with reopening Arkham?"

Bruce folded his hands over one another and waited patiently.  
"No charges have been brought against me Miss Vale." Mayor James said curtly. "I had no idea how badly Doctor Rosenbaum had treated those… kinds… of… those people."

"Those kinds of people." Bruce said calmly. It was as if he were talking to a temperamental child. "Those kinds of people are in need of help. Even now, most of them are in prison cells or living on the streets. The lucky ones were taken out of state to better conditions. We are now the laughing stock when it comes to providing for those in need. Is it any wonder why Gotham is over crowded with criminals?"

"Your idea of Arkham reborn will cost a fortune to pull off and will only be accessible to the wealthy. This is a PR stunt on behalf of Mr. Wayne." Mayor James huffed.

"If I may speak, Mis Vale." came a saccharin sweet voice that had been forgotten.

Bruce knew he was giving Penguin a dirty look, but couldn't help it. It was just so phony. The humble expression, the puppy dog look of contrition.  
"Um… Mr. Oswald Coppelpot is a local business owner." Vicki said. Her voice faltered for the first time. Bruce leaned in closer just as Vicki pulled away from Penguin

"My friends, I to was horrified by the events of Arkham. It's true there is no easy solution for the myriad of problems that trouble our fair city." Penguin said with a grin.

Bruce felt his stomach turn.

"But I think we can all agree that Mayor James' time has passed. It's a new day in Gotham and I have an announcement." Penguin went on.

Bruce saw Vicki look worriedly at the station manager. They all knew what was coming.  
"As a business owner, everything I have is in this city. I'm invested in it. Which is why, I want it to succeed. I want jobs for all. I want decent housing for low income families, and I want these things now. I'm calling for a recall of Mayor James, and running for mayor myself."

~ Selina found herself pulled to the less polished and pristine parts of Gotham. It gave decent cover and she could blend in well. She always knew the best places to hide in the over crowded maze of shops, cafes, and apartments. She only ventured into the nicer parts of the city to hunt the rich.

She paid for parking and decided to walk through the crowds. The historic district had always been packed with people since Gotham was first founded. It was a mecca for immigration and had seen colorful tribes of people come and go.

She didn't need the money, but it felt good to lift a wallet off an unsuspecting business man. Her quick movements felt easier for some reason. She found her eye sight was sharper to and she could maneuver in the streets better.

She didn't feel at all sorry for her victim. She never did. But it was like she could read them now. She could see them more clearly in a way she had never been able to before. One man, late thirties, balding with glasses, was on his way to pay another man to use a child. Selina could smell the sexual hunger oozing out of the man's skin. The way his eyes shied away from the women and men. How he had a ready smile for only a child. She knew he was a child molester from a hundred hards away. She knew his wallet, a velcro thing with Iron Man on it was too child like.

When she bumped into him, he gave her a dirty look. As if a grown woman was the last thing he wanted. No wedding ring, no tan line. His dockers and polo shirt, ironed and well taken care of meant he stilled with his mother. Selina melted into the ethnic crowd but kept him in sight. Her stomach a mess of disgust. She checked the weight of the Iron Man wallet and knew it was a great deal of cash. Most likely in large bills.

Without too much thought, she followed the bad man into a laundry mat where she watched him duck into a small back office. The bad man wouldn't get very far once he realized his money was gone. Money that he would have paid to have sex with some poor kid.

Selina looked up and saw the old building had a few apartments above it. She did some quick calculations. The first floor had their windows open. Spanish music blaring onto the streets. That wasn't it. The second floor had all their windows open to. They were all enjoying the mild weather in Gotham's melting pot.

Her eyes traveled up tot the top floor. News papers were covering the windows for privacy, and all they were closed.

"Bingo." Selina said happily.

No one noticed her pounce onto the dumpster, scale the fire escape and crouch, cat like, by the covered windows. She listened for a long time and could only hear cartoons from some far off TV. Silently, she pried open the window and slipped in. The apartment was barren, except for a full sized mattress. The place was stifling hot and she could hardly breath from the awful heat of having no AC in this place.

She followed the noise of the cartoons into a large living room and saw them there. A boy and a girl, not even old enough for grade school, were watching TV quietly. Their faces were bruised, their bodies too thin. The girl turned and spotted her, and Selina put her finger to her lips.

"Where is he?" Selina whispered.

The girl looked frightened and pointed to another room. Selina crept through a hallway and could feel the rush of AC coming from another bedroom. A man was sleeping off a hangover, she could smell the booze in the air. She knew that he was their pimp. He was the one selling the boy and girl to anyone who had the money. The men in the office downstairs would bring up a potential client, and these kids would be hurt.

Wild thought of ripping his throat out ran through her mind. She could do it. She could do it and get away with it. But what would happen to the kids? Gotham wasn't known for taking care of children in need.

With quick, easy movement's she crept back to the children and motioned at them. The girl and boy were entranced by her and seemed to understand that they need to be quite.

"We're going to leave now." Selina said.

The children nodded and each took one of Selina's hands. She expected more difficulty in getting them out. But it was a simple matter of taking the back stairs to the alleyway. The abused children winced in the light of the bright, sunny day, but didn't cry at all.

"It's okay now." Selina said hopefully.

She felt the girl tug away from her suddenly and Selina looked up to see the Mama's boy with the perfect dockers and polo shirt. No doubt wondering where his wallet had gone. She froze and felt her stomach twist at the sight of him. He looked from her to the kids she was taking out of that awful place. His eyes growing wide with anger as he realized what was happening. He started to yell, his mouth opening up for a shout that would give them all away, when Selina, much to her surprise, kicked him neatly in the throat.

He gasped from the kick. The wind knocked out of him, and stumbled back into the piles of trash on the ground. Selina was slightly shocked at her own behavior. Her kick was perfect. Like something from the movies. He was coughing up blood now. Maybe he bit his tongue or broke a tooth. Although it was mostly likely much worse.  
"I know who you are and I know where you live." Selina hissed and showed him the Iron Man wallet. "Soon, the GCPD will to. If I were you, I'd tell your mom you're leaving town." She kicked him again, harder this time, on the knee cap. He cried out in pain and Selina knew it was broken. She knew he would walk with a limp for the rest of his life because of her.

She didn't feel bad. She never felt bad for her victims. She took the children's hands again and lead them out of the ally. Back into daylight.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

~ Bruce had decided to take a night off. The streets of Gotham had been surprisingly quite the past few nights. His search for the more dangerous of the Arkham escapees was becoming frustrating. Maybe Harleen and Ivy had left the city. There was hardly a whisper about them the past few nights. If they hadn't left Gotham, than they had gone to ground for the time being.

"How did the interview go?" Selina asked. The couple was nestled in a comfortable couch in front of the TV. She twined her small feet around his large ones. It was a surprisingly normal evening of binge watching reality TV shows.  
"As expected." Brice sighed. "Mayor James was personally offended anyone dared to call him out. He acts like he's above the law."

Bruce's voice had become dark when he said that last part. Selina noticed the change and looked up at him in surprise.

Bruce smiled at her. Trying to keep the mask he always wore in front of her. It wasn't easy in front of Selina at times. She always seemed to have him figured out. It had been that way since they were very young.

"What did you do today?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject. "Shopping?"

Selina snorted a laugh.

"What kind of a girl do you think I am?" she asked.

"Silly me." he agreed. He pulled her closer to him and enjoyed the feel of her slight, athletic body draped over his.  
"Was it weird seeing Vicki again?" she asked.

"Not really." Bruce admitted honestly. "She asked about you. Thinks you're an actress."

"Why does everyone think that?" Selina asked. But she was smiling.

"Did you want to watch the interview? It's about to come on." he asked.  
"Sounds boring." she lazily.

Bruce laughed.

"It is." he agreed. "But I hear there's a good looking man on the panel."  
"Well that's something." Selina teased. "I can't get enough of that handsome Mayor James."

Bruce smiled. For whatever reason, he love it when she was a little catty to him.

He flipped the TV stations and saw a news update. Breaking news that would delay the showing Vicki's interview.

"We have still more horrific updates coming out of Historic Gotham this evening." the reporter on the screen said.

Bruce tensed. Did the GCPD find Ivy? Harleen and the other escaped inmates? Selina seemed indifferent.

"A major hub for human trafficking, child porn and abuse had been uncovered with the arrests of several men right here in the heart of Gotham." The reporter was standing in front of a laundry mat in the older part of the city. "Two children, a young brother and sister were recovered today after going missing almost a year ago. They lead authorities back to this location where the GCPD found evidence of still more sex crimes against children. We had already confirmed the arrests of three men in relation to these crimes and the murder of a man who found behind this building. With me now is is James Gordon of the GCPD."

"Look who it is." Selina said darkly. Her voice indifferent to the horrible crime that Bruce hadn't even known about. The camera paned over to Gordon and Bruce was surprised by how old the detective looked in the harsh light of the camera. He still remembered when Gordon was young and good looking; not so haunted and bitter.

"The GCPD has no comments at this time." Gordon said in an angry tone.  
"What about the children recovered from this ordeal? Any word on their condition or how thy escaped?" The reporter asked.  
"The GCPD will be releasing a statement soon enough." Gordon barked and walked away.

"My God." Bruce breathed. "I had no idea."

"Yeah." Selina said cooly.

"Those poor kids." he added. His mind racing over how blind he was to the real horrors of Gotham. How could he have not known about this? Here he was, going out night after night and he was ignorant to the real monsters lurking in the city.

"They'll be a new operation up in a month." Selina said sarcastically. "They take the kids who's parents are addicts or don't speak english. Easy prey."  
"How do you know this?" Bruce accused. She laughed.  
"Bruce I grew up in the streets. I saw it everyday." she told him.

But they both fell silent when Vicki came on the screen.  
"Good evening, Gotham." Vicki Vale said brightly.

Bruce watched the program, but not really. His mind was still on the tragedy of what happened to those children. He would have to talk to Fox about some kind of outreach for children of parents who were addicts. Children at risk of becoming future victims. He hadn't been paying attention to the interview or Mayor James barking at him about Arkham.

His attention was drawn back when Selina jumped out of his arms and stared at the screen.

"Penguin?" she said worriedly.

Bruce noticed Cobbelpot was on the screen.

"What?" he pretended to be ignorant of the name.  
"What… what the hell is he doing on the show?" Selina demanded. Her green eyes wide with worry.

"He was a guest. Crack pot saying he's going to run for mayor. I don't know. He says he runs a business." Bruce explained. He pretended he knew nothing about who Penguin really was.

"He's a gangster." Selina barked.

"What?" Bruce said innocently.

Selina shook her head in annoyance.

"Bruce, he's the guy who pushed out the mob from Gotham. He's running for mayor?" she asked.

"He won't win." Bruce said with real certainty.

"He has power, money… connections." Selina said.  
"How do you know about this guy?" Bruce asked. "And don't say it's because you grew up on the streets either. That's text book enigmatic and it's never an answer."

Selina gave him a disgusted look.  
"I didn't just grow up on the streets, Bruce. I _survived_ the streets. I was smart enough not to fall into bad situations like those kids today." she maneuvered away from him. "Penguin's dangerous."

"How do you know?" Bruce asked.

Selina looked away from him and down at her hands. Bruce had always known there were parts about her life she never spoke of. Her mother, the group homes and the life she had to lead just to stay alive.  
"I feel in with a bad crowd after…" she started to say.  
"After?" Bruce asked. He wasn't judging her. He never judged her.

"It's not important." She said quickly. "Penguin is trouble. He got rid of crime bosses and wasn't polite about it either. Bruce, if he sees you as a threat, he could be dangerous. Promise you'll stay away from him."

"That guy isn't anything to worry about." Bruce lied easily. "He's Gotham's version of Donald Trump."

Bruce smiled at her, but Selina still looked worried.

"Do you want to watch the rest of the interview?" he asked hopefully.  
"No. It's just handsome Bruce Wayne being wonderful. I can see that any time." she said with an eye roll.

"Oh really?" he laughed. "Would you like to see more of him?"

She was giggling when he pulled her into his arms.

~ Selina could tell Bruce would be asleep for hours. They way he snored always gave him away. Long deep breaths and a slight nasal hiss meant he was deeply asleep. She was grateful. It took a lot of work on her part to wear him out. She wasn't sure where he got the stamina for their night time activities. It always surprised her that he wasn't the kid she loved to tease anymore. He was now complete with needs and desires that demanded a lot from her.

She dressed quietly and slipped out of his bedroom. The old house still creaked, but she had learned where to step to avoid any noise. It was past midnight, but her body felt alive after making love to Bruce for hours. She had pocketed the pills Alfred gave her that evening and her mind felt much clearer now. It was as if her sexual escapade had cleared away a fog in her brain. For the first time, she wasn't going to wander around Gotham with no direction. She had a mission.

Tonight, she was going to kill Penguin.

~ "What is it, Jay?" Harleen asked curiously. She tilted her head and looked at the large machine her partner in crime was tinkering with. He had been welding and working with metal scarps since they arrived at the old factory. They had evaded police for now, but Jerome was still obsessed with taking out the menace to Gotham.

"Glad you asked, Harl." he said with a swagger. He was perched on top of a makeshift scaffolding and looked like he might fall at any moment.

Harleen felt her heart race with the thrill of her lover falling and breaking his neck. How exciting would that be?

She smiled as he jumped carelessly down and searched manically for and a power cord.  
"What's the one thing we need to kill the menace?" he said with an eager drawl.  
"A gun?" Harleen suggested.

Jay made a noise like a buzzer in a game show.  
"Wrong!" he shouted.

Harleen laughed and clapped her hands.  
"What we need, is an invitation." he said and gave a little bow.

Harleen watched as he plugged in a large black cord into the wall and the old factory flooded with light.

"The circus used these all the time to bring people in. It can be seen from miles away. That freak will come running to us." Jay said.

Harleen looked with glee as the massive search light cast and overwhelming bright light onto the wall. Jerome had welded a rough metal outline of a bat to it's frame. She felt a shudder run down her spine at the sight of what it meant.

"I'm going to bring the so called bat to us." Jay said in a dark voice.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

~ Selina felt good. A delightful rush of endorphins from her evening with Bruce had made her senses even more heightened. She had to admit it was more fun than watch old movies. Perhaps he had his uses after all. She felt so confident, it was an easy matter to borrow one of the cars and speed recklessly out of the million dollar zip code, over the bridge and into the city.

It was starting to rain again, and she almost skidded out on the slicked streets. She was headed to Penguin's rancid little club. She should have done this years ago. The first time she had seen what Cobbelpot was capable of. But she had been just a kid, and had liked the protection he afforded her. Penguin wanted nothing and expected nothing of her. He had compared her aloofness to a house cat. Often ignoring her completely while she witnessed him plotting crimes.

If Penguin had plans to eliminate Bruce, she had to stop him. It wasn't that she was in **_love_** with Bruce. She liked hime, certainly. Was grateful to him at times, and when she was younger they were both curious about each other. But she wasn't the type of girl to fall in love. Certainly not with a guy like Bruce. No. Bruce Wayne needed a simpler girl. One who was good at parties, and looked pretty on his arm. Not one that had blood on her hands.

~ Penguin ate dinner alone. He had learned long ago that he didn't have any real friends. A boys only true friend was his mother anyway. His beloved mother had passed long ago, and Penguin still felt as if he was in mourning for her. After her death, a coldness seeped into his blood. He retreated to darkness and hatred. His world was a frozen arctic wasteland.

He still roused himself enough to accomplish what he needed to. He spoke to his minions about their cut of each job. He had other minions cut their throats out if he suspected theft. One had to be swift and brutal when it came to maintaining honesty in the company. Couldn't have anyone try to steal from him. Penguin rarely killed anyone these days. His bum leg was bothering him with the weight gain, and he suspected he had a hernia. No, it was better to let the wolves kill and eat each other for a place at his side. Penguin didn't get his hands too dirty anymore.

"I know you're there, _freak_." Penguin hissed. He stabbed his cold dinner with a fork and didn't care that he might have scratched the china. "You could just call next time you want information. Or better yet, text me. These unannounced visits just to harass me are a bit low class don't you think? I mean, don't all the kids in the school yard bully on social media anyway? Least you could do is take off that stupid helmet and talk to me like a real man. I'm a business leader after all. When I started I was an umbrella boy."

He peered into the darkness and saw a dark, shadowy form crouched on the rafters above. The form didn't speak, only watched him like an animal would watch its prey.

"Come down from there if you want to talk. I'm not armed." Penguin said. He sipped some red wine and went back to eating his dinner.

"I think you might have me confused with someone else." A woman's voice called out bravely. Like a skillful ballet dancer, she detached herself from the darkness and jumped. Her perfect landing would have made any gymnast green with envy.

"My little house cat." Penguin said with a surprised grin. He was happy to see her again. He would know her anywhere. He had always liked the girl. She had run with Fish when he first met her, but then again, so did he once upon a time. She had stayed with, and kept him company. She never bothered him, annoyed him or intruded on his business. So she had been spared any turn over he had when it came to his staff.

"How good to see you again." Penguin told her in his best public relations tone. "Selina, right? But you preferred to be called Cat? That's how I always thought of you."

He smiled happily and went back to his meal. He was always hungry these days.

"So tell me, Cat." he said with a chuckle. "What brings you back to my humble abode?"

"I'm here to kill you." she said simply.

Penguin looked up at her with only mild surprise. He knew what this was really about.  
"I've read the papers, Cat." he said knowingly. "I saw the pictures of you and Mr. Wayne. He grew into a very handsome young man didn't he? I still remember when he was just some poor kid who had lost his parents."

He shook his head and raised his glass to her.

"You've grown to be a very beautiful woman yourself, Selina." he told her. Her name felt strange to say out loud. He had never called her by her name before. He wasn't used to thinking about her as a beautiful woman. "The two of you make a stunning couple. The tabloids seem to love you together."

"You know why I'm here." Selina said smartly.

Penguin nodded.  
"Oh, yes. You think you have to protect your boyfriend from me. You seem to be under the misguided impression that I'm some kind of criminal." he said with a nervous laugh.

"You kill people to get what you want. You've killed a man for a pair of shoes. What is it to you to kill a man to win an election?" she said darkly.

"True." Penguin said artfully. "That handsome Bruce Wayne does have the potential to win. He's like a modern day Kennedy."

He glared at her harshly.

"We all know how the Kennedy's ended up." he said in a voice that was no longer so friendly.

"Which is why it has to be like this." Selina said indifferently.

"Awfully brave of you to come here and kill me. A little girl all by yourself." he said.

"You're the one who's really alone. Your thugs have gone home for the night. You always eat alone." she said. "See? I haven't forgotten. Old habits." she added.

"I'm never **really** alone." he said.

He reached for his wine glass with his right hand. The girl never saw the small gold plated pistol he concealed in his left hand. He fired without really looking and saw the puff of red bloom from her leather jacket.  
"Shame to ruin such a cute outfit." Penguin said when Selina groaned and crumpled to the ground. "All the fashion magazines are copying your style."

He saw her curl into a ball and could hear the whimpering sounds.  
"Don't worry." Penguin said. "They will remember you as young and beautiful forever."

~ When Bruce woke up, the sun was streaming through his window. He blinked at the invasion of the late morning light. He couldn't ever remember sleeping so late. He had slept soundly and barely remembered his dreams. His sleep had been peaceful for one. All his cares forgotten and he was in a remarkably good mood. His body happy about all the attention Selina had demanded from him. Almost driving him to exhaustion with her appetite. Not that he was one to complain.

He rolled over. His hands seeking to find her body and touch her skin to his again. But the silk sheets were cold. Her side of the bed was empty and neglected.

"Stupid Alfred and his rules." Bruce muttered. His lover had no doubt crept shamefully back to her room so they wouldn't raise the butler's suspicion. He would have to talk to Alfred about this. Selina wasn't just a guest. What he did in private with her wasn't Alfred's business.

Bruce lingered in bed a few moments and remembered his evening with Selina. It was everything he wanted it to be. Exciting, romantic even a little naughty. He grinned stupidly with the memory of it.

With renewed energy, Bruce jumped out of bed and thew on some clothes. Was it too crazy to ask Selina to marry him again? She was doing very well with Fox's treatment and seemed happy. They would have to stay in Gotham naturally, but she seemed to like it at the manner house.

Bruce dressed in running pants and an old T-shirt. He would jog for about five miles today, shower, eat a good lunch and devour Selina whole again. Forget his dark knight routine. Another night off wouldn't matter. If he actually decided to run for mayor, he might could do a better job of helping Gotham.

~ Bruce practically sprinted downstairs and was about to tell Alfred to make egg whites when he got back. He stopped when he saw the pale, and conflicted look on the older man's face.

Bruce sighed.  
"It was one night, Alfred." he explained. "Selina and I are both adults. What we do behind closed doors in our business. Stop being such a prude."

"Sir." Alfred said with a shaky voice.

Something was wrong. Alfred looked like he was about to be sick.  
"What is it?" Bruce asked.

Alfred handed him an envelope that had already been opened.  
"No return address, sir. Someone dropped it off at the doorstep. It was addressed to no one." the butler explained. His eyes were watering with tears.

It was one of the trendy new tech birthday cards that allowed a video greeting. A fluffy white kitten with big eyes was on the cover. Bruce opened the card and a ten second video started.

He stopped breathing when he saw the blood. Saw Selina whimpering on a cold floor with blood escaping her body.

"Pets today are so unfaithful." A mocking voice said.

Bruce felt his own blood turn to ice water. It was Penguin.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Why don't you come to my club and we can talk about how you're going to help elect me mayor of Gotham?"

The camera reversed and Bruce saw the horrible pale face and sharp nose of Penguin.  
"If you want her to survive this… I recommend you don't involved the cops. Most of them are on my payroll anyway."

Penguin shrugged and the video cut out.

Bruce was breathing hard, but felt faint.

"Sir?" Alfred was saying. But his words were lost. All Bruce saw was red.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

~ Selina had never been shot before. Pain from the shoulder wound bloomed and spread like fire. The sharpness of it was so strong that she forgot to breathe.

She gasped when her lungs ached for air and took deep gulps of oxygen to try and ease her own suffering.

Penguin was standing over her holding something in his hands.

"If you want her to survive this… I suggest you don't involve the cops." the vile little man was saying.

He closed what looked like a video birthday card and smiled at her. Selina was trying not to pass out from the pain. She tried to regulate her breathing and not hyperventilate. Oxygen in her body would help with the pain.

"Boss?" came a gruff voice and Selina saw they were no longer alone. "I heard gun shots."

"Vic. Perfect timing!" Penguin said with his macabre PR smile. "Please do me a favor and take this to Wayne Manor just outside of town. Leave it on the door step and come back. We're going to have a most disguised visitor."

Selina's vision blurred from tears. She could make out Penguin handing one of this faceless thugs the card.

"On your way out, call Doctor Needles and have him come here strait away." Penguin continued. The nasty villain chortled. "We seem to have had a little accident."

Selina glared at him. The pain wasn't as bad anymore.  
"Don't worry, Cat." Penguin said teasingly. "He may be a mob doctor. But he's very good at gun shot wounds. I think he was top of his class at mortuary school."

"He won't come for me." Selina spat.

"Our doctor comes when I say. Don't worry." Penguin said with an uncomfortable smile.  
"You know who I mean, stupid." Selina told him through gritted teeth. "Bruce Wayne won't come here for me. You think a guy like him is going to get his hands dirty? I'm completely replaceable. He can find another version of me easy enough."

"Ah, that may be true." Penguin shrugged. He stepped around her injured body. Indifferent to her suffering. "Men are funny creatures you know. Contrary to popular notions, true love is real with us. I have this car, you may remember it, I liberated it from its' previous owner. I've loved that car since the moment I saw it. Never wanted another car. Sure it has some miles on it. No new gadgets for music or seat warmers. It always costs me a pretty penny every time it has to go to the shop. I could buy a very nice new car that would have all the bells and whistles. But I would never love a new car like I love the old girl. I will never part with it. Even when Fish stole it, I managed to get it back. Selina? I think that you are Bruce Wayne's true love. His favorite car, the one thing he can't live without. What would the Greeks call it? Oh, yeah." He grinned at her and Selina felt afraid for the first time. "His Achilles heel. I'm going to use you as leverage. Once Bruce Wayne hears your screams of pain he will do anything I say."

Courage raced through her body and Catwoman remembered everything. It came back to her like a dam bursting. Violence, almost like a blood lust, filled her mind and she pushed the pain from her gun shot wound away. Her body apparently immune to harm for a moment. Rage, beautiful and sharp spread throughout her and she was the fearless warrior she was always meant to be.

The kick she delivered to Penguin's already bad leg sent him to the floor. His extra body weight made a horribly comic sound when it hit and Penguin cried out.

"Not today, asshole." Catwoman said bitterly. From her still prone position on the floor, she delivered another brutal kick to his face. She felt, and heard, his nose break.

She was happy to hear Penguin groan in pain.

Her own pain was dulled considerably, but hadn't been washed away. Selina winced from the now throbbing wound to her shoulder. She still managed to stand up, give Penguin another kick in the stomach and walk away. For whatever reason, it didn't occur to her now to kill him. She wanted him hurt more than she wanted him dead. And penguin had given her just the idea on how to hurt him.

~ The White Rolls Royce. Only one like in all of Gotham. The car that once belonged to a long forgotten mob boss had been rightfully stolen by Penguin in the terrible culling of Gotham's organized crime. A year ago, Fish and Ivy stole it from in front of his derelict club and killed two of his men. It was a meant to be a message to Penguin. After Ivy was arrested and thrown into Arkham, the Rolls Royce was sent into police evidence, where, Catwoman was sure, it vanished.

Thanks to his connections, the Rolls was safely tucked in Penguin's secret garage next to his club. It was easy to see why Penguin loved this car. Leather seats, clean lines and curves. Any man would love this car more than a common newer model.

' _Savor this moment_.' Catwoman told herself. ' _It's not everyday you can destroy a car like this._ '

Flammable material was everywhere. Oils, gas and rags would work perfectly well. She stuffed an oil soaked rag into the gas tank and lit it. Shame such a rare and beloved beauty had to perish, but nothing would hurt Penguin more.

Catwoman had escaped the garage just in time. The car must have had a full tank of gas because it exploded like a bomb. Windows were broken out, car alarms blared wildly from the concussive noise. The resulting fire was bright and cheery in such a gloomy part of the city. Catwoman held her wounded shoulder and watched the fire spread quickly to Penguin's club. It would soon burn the neighborhood down. Most, if not all of the old building were empty. Hardly anyone was reacting to the massive fire that was engulfing the building.

Catwoman enjoyed the heat of the fire for a while and wandered lazily away.

~ No body armor, helmet or weapons were on Bruce Wayne when he drove into the city. Alfred had wanted to call Gordon, but Bruce reminded him of Penguin's warning. The horrible little man most likely wanted money or for Bruce to back off the Arkham project. Probably both.  
"So you're just going to go unarmed?" Alfred had questioned.

"Not exactly. If anything goes wrong, you'll know where I'll be." Bruce had told him.

"If Penguin kills you?" Alfred barked.

"He won't."

"Master Bruce!"

"He won't!" Bruce said. "Selina has been shot. She might already be dead."

"I should go with you." Alfred said.  
"No." Bruce told him. He was trying to remain calm, but he desperately wanted to hurt Penguin.

"What if she's dead, sir?" Alfred asked. "What if you go there and the little bastard has already killed her?"

"Then Gotham won't have to worry about Penguin anymore." Bruce said easily.

His rage subsided to a cold furry when he crossed the bridge and into the dilapidated part of city Penguin called home. Traffic was congested and problematic which was unusual for this part of Gotham. This wasn't exactly a tourist destination and it was strange for there to be news vans and lines of slow moving cars. Bruce saw a fleet of fire trucks flashing emergency lights and an ambulance roar past him. A line of cars were inching by slowly and he knew something major had happened.

He quickly turned on the luxury car's computer to scan for news.

"Key word's: _Gotham_ , _Downtown_ , _Emergency Response._ " Bruce said when the computer beeped.

Vicki Vale's voice flooded the cabin of the high end car.

"A devastating fire broke out downtown sometime in the night. Emergency response teams have been working for hours to contain the damage." She said. Her report was full of drama to gather more viewers. Bruce glanced at the screen once traffic had slowed to a standstill. His ex looked excited to report on some real news again. The scene behind her was like a war zone of burned buildings and rubble. Bruce didn't even recognize the neighborhood that was now in ruins.

"It would appear the fire had started at a local club owned by one Oswald Cobbelpot of Gotham. You may remember Mr. Cobblepot from my interview with Mayor James and Bruce Wayne." Vicki went on. There was a brief video of Penguin from the interview on screen which made Bruce grip the steering wheel harder.  
"So far the GCPD has not confirmed if their have been any fatalities, yet with a fire horrific enough to wipe out three city blocks, we can only hope everyone got out alive and well. I'm Vicki Vale with counting coverage.

Bruce could feel his heart pounding in a horrible rhythm. Selina had been in that building. She had been shot and was bleeding. She most certainly didn't make it out in time. What had caused the fire? Had Penguin made it out? Traffic was almost stopped and he was helpless in the useless luxury car he drove everyday.

"Call Gordon!" He growled at the dashboard computer. There was a beep of connection and a humming tone. Gordon's voice sounded annoyed when he picked up.

"Gordon."  
"Detective Gordon. This is Bruce Wayne." He said.  
"Mr. Wayne." Gordon said and cleared his throat. "Nice to hear from you. How long has it been now?"  
"Sorry to bother you, Detective." Bruce said politely. "I think my friend Selina Kyle was in Mr. Cobbelpot's Club when it burned down."

Gordon was silent on the other end. Bruce went on.  
"Alfred and I got a message today from Mr. Cobblepot." he said. Bruce made his voice sound helpless and frightened. "It was a video card. Selina had been kidnapped and shot by this man. Mr. Cobblepot."

"I see." Gordon said soberly.  
"Detective, I know you haven't released any information on the fire, but I need to know if Selina was recovered." Bruce said.

"Bruce. You better come into the station." Gordon told him.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

~ Women brought more pain than a man could bare. Loving a woman weakened any man. At least Jim Gordon thought so. Years of heartbreak, of loving the wrong kind of women and letting go of the right ones, had made him bitter to the very idea of romantic love.

He knew these relationships were doomed before they even started. After he watched Barbra spiraled out of control, he had run head first into a white hot affair with Leigh. When tragedy took her away from him, he was quick to rebound with another girl. Soon he had become the thing he feared most, a self loathing old man no woman wanted.

He had no one to blame but himself for being alone now. So, he married himself to the job, ate his TV dinners alone in his pitiful apartment and tried not to think about the life he willingly gave up to stay loyal to the GCPD.

The separation from Leigh was the most painful. She made him feel like more of a man than anyone else in his life. She not only encouraged him in his career, she actually took part in it. Leigh was the one, and she slipped away. One moment she was there, willing to battle dragons with him, next, she was gone like she had never been by his side at all.

She never knew, probably never knew, all the little things Jim Gordon kept. They were small and were likely never to be missed. Hair pins, used lipstick, forgotten movie ticket stubs. Things that reminded him of Leigh in some way. A memory he had wanted to hold onto; back when things were good and they were in love.

He kept these trinkets in a shoe box in his closet. He never kept such items with other women. He didn't know why he kept these. He didn't look at them any more, but he still had them hidden in the back of his closet.

As soon as he ended his call with Bruce Wayne, Gordon was flooded with memories of Leigh. Maybe it was some last ditch attempt at empathy. A feeling that he knew how Bruce felt just now.

It wasn't the first time Jim Gordon would have to comfort Bruce Wayne after a horrible loss. The night they first met, Bruce, just a child then, had seen his parents brutally murdered. Gordon had to try and relate to a terrified and forever traumatized kid. Over the years, Gordon had watched Bruce grow into an elegant young man. Without a trace of the boy he once knew. But now… how would he handle this?

Selina Kyle was no good. Gordon knew that from the very beginning. He thought she could be saved, that the streets of Gotham hadn't sunk in their teeth too deeply, but he had been wrong. It was a mistake to think she could ever be trusted. A bigger mistake to introduce her to Wayne.

Gordon flexed the hand she had so ruthlessly stabbed a few months back. He had never told anyone, not even Dent or Bullock what had happened. He was too embarrassed he had once again let Selina Kyle get the upper hand.

He had followed the tabloid reports on Bruce and Selina closely. No one seemed to have any idea that she came from Gotham. That she was nothing more than a forgotten street kid. Her movie star good looks and Bruce Wayne on her arm gave her a mystique that had all of Gotham trying to copy her. It wasn't hard to understand why Bruce loved her, and Gordon could tell Bruce loved her. Ever since they were kids, Bruce seemed enchanted by the vixen. Like Leigh with Gordon, Selina had made Bruce more confident and happy. But she could never change who she really was.

Gordon spotted Bruce enter the station from his desk. A high vantage point that let him observe all who came and went in the GCPD building. He waved at the young man, and closed the file on Penguin's bar burning down. The photo's within were too awful.

"Bruce." Gordon said and tried to smile. "I'm glad you came. It's good to see you again."

"I brought the card." Bruce said curtly. "Mr. Cobbelpot has Miss Kyle. We must do everything we can to get her back. If he wants money, that's fine. I'm willing to pay." He handed Gordon the video greeting card with it's ghastly message.

"Bruce."  
"I drove by the club where Mr. Cobbelpot has his… well his business, and there were fire trucks. I've had no news since." Bruce went on. He was worried and scared, Gordon could tell. "The card said not to involve the GCPD, but I've always been able to trust you, Detective."

Gordon felt uncomfortable. He never liked giving bad news, and with Bruce, a young man who had lost so much, it hurt even more.

"Bruce, sit down." Jim said. Bruce nodded and took the seat next to his desk.

"The fire?" Bruce asked anxiously.

"Yes." Gordon nodded. "First, how did Penguin… umm… Mr. Cobelpot get Selina to his club?"

Bruce shook his head. How wonderful it must be to be so innocent to the world.

"I don't know. She has been staying with us at the manor since the Arkham incident." Bruce said.

"She stays with you often?" Gordon asked.

Bruce nodded.

"We've always been close. I'm sure the media has over hyped our relationship." the young man explained.

"Right." Gordon said and tried to smile again. Leigh often told him his ' _fake smile_ ' looked more like he was gritting his teeth. He was sure he looked that way now. "I remember introducing the two of you."

Bruce nodded but was quite.

"Bruce, I'm sure there were a lot of things about Selina she never told you. Things about her past. Things she kept hidden."  
"We all have secrets, Detective." Bruce said. He voice colder with the accusation Gordon was about to make. "I didn't ask questions about things she wasn't ready to talk about."

Gordon nodded.

"Bruce, not too long after the two of you met, Selina started running with a bad crowd. A mob boss named Fish Moony. I'm sure she stayed with her for survival. If there's one thing Selina can do, it's survive. After Fish was thought to be killed, Selina ran with the new boss. A man known in the underworld as Penguin. You know him as Oswald Cobbelpot."

"Mr. Cobbelpot is a mob boss?" Bruce asked in confusion.  
"Yes, and Selina must have known his habits and secrets very well." Gordon explained.

"That life is behind her, Detective." Bruce said stubbornly. "I need to know that she wasn't caught in that fire."

"Bruce." Gordon breathed. This was going to be hard. "The fire was arson. Fire chief says it started in the garage. So far… several bodies have turned up in the rubble. One of them is defiantly female and with a gun shot wound. We'll have to wait for forensics, so we can't say for sure if it's Selina-"

Bruce stood up. His face red, but his composure never faltering.  
"I'll have Alfred bring over her tooth brush. That's the best way to make a DNA match isn't it?" the young man asked.

Gordon was surprised Bruce wasn't more emotional just now. He didn't seem sad or even hurt. He seemed as if his rage was barely containable.  
"Yes, that's how it's done." Gordon said sadly.  
"What about Mr. Cobbelpot? Was his body found?" Bruce asked.  
"Several bodies were recovered." Gordon explained. He stood to meet Bruce in the eye. "But we're going to identify the unknown female first. It might not be Selina."

"But it's likely." Bruce said. His voice faltered slightly. The sadness creeping in. For a moment, he was that scared little boy again. Gordon wanted to promise it wasn't Selina. He wanted to promise the world and knew he couldn't make those promises.

"Thank you for your time, Detective. I would rather hear it from you that she's dead." Bruce said and extended his hand to shake. Gordon, never really surprised by the young man's perfect manners, shook it.  
"I'll be sure to call you as soon as I know. This is a priority, Bruce." he said.

~ Harvey Dent could care less about Penguin's little hovel burning down. He had no sympathies to any of the Gotham scum. He avoided the traffic around downtown and drove his luxury car to the trendy part of Gotham. His office had to field calls about the fire all day and he was glad when five o'clock rolled around at last.

He loved his job, but hated it at the same time. Everyday, he dealt with horrible teenagers, too late to try and save. Criminals without souls to save, and just lately, the nightmare of escapee's from Arkham. What a life. Gotham was beating him down, as it did most of the ambitious people. He wasn't getting anywhere in his career, the rent on his trendy apartment was going up again and his love life was non existent.

His love life had always been difficult. He had no problem getting dates, his good looks helped a lot. But his temper always drove women away. Women could sense the violence stirring just below the surface and were quick to leave him. It had always been that way and Harvey Dent certainly wasn't going to blame himself.

He parked his car in the private garage and walked to his place. He would have to move soon enough, but for now, he enjoyed the prestigious address. The walk up was a killer but it had a nice view of the park. He lived alone and liked it that way. His apartment was neatly furnished in an ultra modern style and very expensive. He had a maid come in twice a week and he himself took care to keep his home "photo shoot ready" as Gordon called it.

To his surprise when he turned on the lights, there was a woman in his apartment. He almost hadn't noticed her at first. He was too busy setting down his briefcase and hanging up his coat. He had court documents to read before going to bed and he would microwave some dinner after a shower.

His thoughts were not at all on the figure standing by the window. In fact, he had looked over most of his mail by the time he realized something wasn't right. He turned to see her standing there. Indifferent to the fact she had just broken into his home.

"Selina?" he asked his surprise. "Selina Kyle?"

"Hello, Harvey." she said with a pleasant, self satisfied grin.

"What… What are you doing here?" he asked in disbelief. The door was locked. No one else had a key except the manager. How did she even get inside?

"I thought I might stop by and say hi. I was in the neighborhood." she said lazily and made herself comfortable on his couch.

She looked at him with bright green eyes and Dent felt that wonderful pull of attraction he had first felt when he saw her at Bruce Wayne's dinner party.

"Um… where's Wayne?" Dent asked suspiciously.

"I don't know." Selina teased. "I'm not here for him."

Harvey was quick to catch her meaning and hurriedly joined her on the couch. She wanted him, he could tell. This was a dream come true, but it was real. His mind had to tell his body to calm down. To avoid getting too excited and embarrassing himself.

"So it's just the two of us tonight?" Dent asked with a grin.  
Selina leaned in to kiss him, Harvey could feel her lips…

She pulled away.

"You're out of your league, Dent." she snapped coldly.

She stood up and stepped away from him.

"What?" Dent asked in disbelief. "I thought-"

"That I was here for you? Keep dreaming." she scoffed.

Harvey Dent felt that familiar rage flush over him.  
"Then why are you here?" he barked.

Selina seemed to enjoy toying with him.  
"To help you." she said sweetly.

"With what?"

"Get revenge on Ivy Pepper." she told him.

Suddenly, all the anger he was feeling toward Selina passed and was replaced with new anger towards the Pepper girl who had used some kind of mind game to gain her freedom. Pepper had embarrassed him in front of the entire city.

"Interested?" Selina asked with a cat like grin.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

~ The heavens wept and rained down over Gotham for days. The sun seemed to have vanished, and in its' place were ominous dark clouds. At night, thunderstorms lit the sky up and made the population tremble at the sheer power of it.

The flooding was intense, especially in the newer, more trendy, parts of Gotham. They were ill prepared for the sudden rising water and loss of power. The newer buildings were vulnerable to the river flooding it's banks. The older parts of Gotham, well away from the river, waited out the storm like they always did. Their homes were old, but had stood the test of time. The heavy rain repeatedly knocked out power all over the grid. Emergency services were slow to respond to any crisis. Ambulances had to ford rivers that were once normal streets. Police cruisers were being replaced by emergency boats for rescue.

Searching for the escaped inmates of Arkham was temporarily abandoned in the wake of the relentless rain. Rain that closed shops, caused traffic accidents and made people stay at home.

Bruce Wayne loved this weather. He loved the cold that crept into the old house and the need for a warm fire. But he stayed away from the warmth of the upstairs. Instead, he isolated himself to the cold and damp tomb like cave below. He had always liked this place. It was miserable to be in a place like this during the rain storm, and yet, he liked to feel cold and unloved just now. It was oddly gratifying to feel sorry for yourself while in a cave.

In the bunker under the manor house, he scanned news and police reports. His new key word algorithm was working very well. He could even omit the word Gotham from search permitters and rely on the learning computer to adapt to his needs. He was using it to eavesdrop on reports of the fire now.

Penguin was almost certainly dead, although the fire was so intense that there was no body to prove it yet. Gordon's men had found several other bodies in the basement of Penguin's club. Most likely these were the victims of Penguin's many crimes over the years. Buried in shallow graves dug into the basement floor. Bruce listened closely for information about Selina, but there was nothing. He had given the GCPD crime lab Selina's toothbrush in hopes that, of all the bodies tested, her DNA wouldn't match. He had to nourish the hope that she was still alive. That any second, she would come back.

He would leave Gotham forever if she was returned to him unharmed. He would take her back to Switzerland and sell his ancestral home. He would cut all ties to this wasteland of a city and say to hell with Gotham.

"Master Bruce?" came the annoyed growl of Alfred. Bruce pretend to not hear him. It wasn't easy, the underground bunker tended to echo noise.

"Don't act like you can't hear me!" Alfred snapped.

Bruce looked up from his running algorithm and saw that Alfred had delivered dinner to him on a tray.  
"Sorry, Alfred. I've been… busy." Bruce apologized.

"No word yet on Miss Kyle then?" Alfred asked.  
"None." Bruce sighed.  
"Well, it's far too horrible to go out tonight. Everyone's indoors anyway with all this rain." Alfred said pleasantly.

"The car has proven itself in these extreme conditions." Bruce said curtly. "I'll make a sweep of the narrows and maybe Arkham Asylum. Last night I found several inmates had been squatting there to get out of the storm."

"You've been on those bloody patrols every night since the fire." Alfred said trying to stay calm.

"Ivy Pepper is still out there. So are the most dangerous of Arkham's escapees. Did you forget?" Bruce reminded him bitterly.

"You're not just doing this because of what happened to Miss Kyle? Because that wasn't your fault, Master Wayne. What happened to her was Penguin's fault. Now he's dead and there's no one left to blame." Alfred explained.

Bruce shook his head.

"I'll be leaving at sundown. It's as good a night as any to test the cars hydro functions again. It did really well crossing the river to Arkham." Bruce said with cold indifference.

~ Gordon loved the rain. It fit his mood about his life, and about Gotham in particular. It was a city of glom and hopelessness. There was no salvation. No new day. It had all been a lie.

He had insisted the M.E give him a hard, paper copy of Selina Kyle's DNA reports. Their tech support people were suspicious that the GCPD was bugged. They had recovered a very high tech key logging software implanted into the database last week. There was some suspicion that it was a government conspiracy. The tech was too high end for the any other entity but the government. What they were looking for, the techs couldn't recover, but the bug kept reappearing only hours after it was disabled. It had to be the FBI or NSA trying to spy on them. Who else had billions at their disposal to spy on the GCPD, and why would they do it?

As precaution, Gordon had his most sensitive case files done the old fashioned way. Pen and paper, hard copies only. The M.E had horrible handwriting, but Gordon could decipher it. Gordon's men found several bodies buried in Penguin's basement. Six of them were women. Two of them were too old to be Selina. One was the right age, but she had been strangled to death and not shot. These three had been dead at least ten years the M.E concluded.

The only girl removed from the basement that had been shot was close to Selina's age. Gordon had secretly hoped it was her. There had always been something about Selina Kyle he didn't trust. The fact that she and Bruce Wayne had always been so close annoyed Gordon. He regretted ever intruding the two of them. No telling how much money she manipulated out of the poor kid.

Gordon couldn't hate Selina too much. After all these years, she was the one who finally killed the Penguin. A feat no one had the balls to pull off. Including himself.

Still, she did stab him in the hand and make his life hell for years while running around with Gotham's most wanted. Even holding a gun on Leigh at one point.

Gordon saw the M.E.'s conclusion. The results were ben run twice to be sure. The body wasn't Selina Kyle. He quickly phoned Wayne Manor.

Alfred's voice, cranky and gravel like as ever, picked up on the second ring.  
"Alfred this is Detective Gordon." he said. His eyes were still on the results. His mind till swirling with the idea that Selina could still be alive.  
"Yes, Detective." Alfred said quickly. "We've been awaiting your call."

"I'm sorry to tell you this…" Gordon said and took a deep breath. "But the body recovered from the scene was of a girl Selina's age and she had a gun shot wound." Gordon took another deep breath. "I'm afraid the fire had destroyed too much of the body to make any DNA match."

"I see." Alfred said sadly.  
"She hasn't made contact with yourself or Bruce, right? She most likely died from her gun shot wound. Long before the fire got to her. The M.E. has enough evidence, even without DNA, to sign off on a death certificate. If that's what you want." Gordon said.

Alfred was quite for a moment.  
"I'll tell Master Wayne. I'm sure he will want the body for burial in the family plot." Alfred said.

"We can release her to the funeral home in the morning." Gordon said.

When he hung up the phone, there was a coldness, that had nothing to do with the weather, seep into his body.  
If Bruce belived his beloved Selina Kyle was dead, he might move on with his life. Gordon was certain that she went to Penguin's on her own. She had worked for the Mob boss after all. She was probably still involved with the crime boss. It was for the best. Penguin had probably killed her, or she left town for good. If she was still alive, she would have contacted Bruce by now. She wouldn't stay on the streets with a gunshot wound in this weather.

Still, he felt bad for lying.

~ Catwoman hated the rain. She always hated the rain in Gotham. When her mother abandoned her, it had rained for days. She had broken into an old factory to sleep and stay out of the cold and wetness. She was a master of keeping out of storms like this. Always landing on her feet.

"Sorry I'm late, Selina." Harvey Dent said strolling into the apartment. "Busy day and traffic is murder right now with all the flooding. You wouldn't believe it if I told you. I think tomorrow I'll just call in and we can watch movies or something."

Catwoman didn't say a word. She kept the apartment dark all day, even with the rolling black outs and loss of power she didn't bother with lights. She liked the darkness. The smell of an apartment when no one else was there.

"What do you say?" Dent asked hopefully.

Catwoman turned to see her roommate. It was nice of Harvey to let her stay here. Not that he had a choice. But why did he have to act like they were a couple?

"Were you able to get Ivy and Crane's records?" she asked.

He held up a briefcase.  
"Sure did. Gordon investigated Crane's old man. It seems that's where Junior learned it." Dent explained.

"With Ivy's help he's been able to accelerate and stabilize his father's treatment." Catwoman said smoothly. "As well as other notable pharmaceuticals."

"I want to know more about this mind control." Dent said with a crafty grin on his handsome face. "Imagine how much something like that would be worth. A drug that would make anyone your puppet."

He looked her over. His eyes taking their time on her breasts and hips.

"I don't need drugs to make you my puppet, Dent." Catwoman hissed. "You're here because you have no real loyalty to anyone but yourself. You want Ivy just as badly as I do."

"I have loyalty!" Dent suddenly shouted at her. His face turning slightly pink with anger.

Catwoman smiled.

"Gordon didn't think so. It seems you rolled on him more than once when your career was threatened." she said. Her voice was almost like a purr now. She moved closer to him, his stance was tense from the accusation but softened as she came closer.

"What was it he used to call you?" she whispered in his ear. "Oh yes. _Two-Face Dent_."

She leaned back and smiled. Dent's face was now red with anger.

"I need to change my bandages." she said in a cold, detached voice. She was done playing with him for now.

She hoped he would try to hit her. She wondered what would happen to him if he became really angry. For now, he wanted to have sex with her so badly he couldn't stay mad. She let him think she might let him have her, but that, of course would never happen.

But one day soon, she planned to push him over the line and see his more monstrous side revel itself.


End file.
